5.1.1 Responsibilities of the Sponsor
The Sponsor shall be responsible for the development and coordination of the standards project, and for supervising the standards project from inception to completion. The Sponsor also shall be responsible for the maintenance of the standards after their approval by the IEEE-SA Standards Board. As part of this responsibility, each Sponsor shall operate in accordance with a written set of policies and procedures (P & P) that have been accepted by the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Such P & P shall not be in conflict with the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual. Sponsors should note that there are model operating procedures (e.g., individual, entity, SCC Type 1, or SCC Type 2) available for use by the Sponsor.

If a Sponsor's P & P has been in force for five years and the Sponsor determines that its standards activities should remain active, the Sponsor shall submit its P & P, or an extension request, to the AudCom Administrator. AudCom will make a recommendation to the IEEE-SA Standards Board whether or not to accept its P & P or the extension. An extension request may be granted for one or more years.

If the Sponsor does not submit its Sponsor P & P or an extension request, and the P & P has reached the deadline authorized in the P & P approval letter or a previous extension approval letter, the Sponsor P & P shall be subject to administrative withdrawal.

In the case of a Sponsor that is a committee of an IEEE Society, the Society may develop a common set of P & P for standards development that is applicable to all Sponsors in that Society. Individual Sponsors within the Society may have specific P & Ps in addition, but these shall not be in conflict with the Society P & P. The P & P for the Sponsor shall define the process by which the Sponsor handles appeals (see subclause 5.4 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws and 5.8).

5.1.2 Duties of the Sponsor

5.1.2.1 Mandatory requirements
Supervision of a standards project by the Sponsor includes the following mandatory requirements:

a) Submit a properly completed Project Authorization Request (PAR) for IEEE-SA Standards Board approval within six months of the first decision to initiate the project. Forms and information may be obtained from the NesCom Administrator (see 5.2).

b) After approval of the project, work with the IEEE Standards Department Staff to give notice of the project in appropriate publications and to appropriate entities, for the purpose of soliciting an expression of interest in the work of the sponsoring committee.

e) Access and use IEEE’s data, including personal data, from IEEE systems for the purposes intended, including to support the technical development work on the standard, and only in compliance with IEEE or IEEE-SA Privacy and data privacy policies.

f) Notify persons who have expressed interest in the time and the place of meetings as specified in the P & P of the Sponsor (see 5.1.1).

g) Ensure that all meetings involving standards are open to all interested parties.

h) Conduct the Sponsor ballot and IEEE Public Review in accordance with these procedures (see 5.4).

i) Submit the proposed standard together with the submittal form to the IEEE-SA Standards Board.

j) Submit annually to IEEE-SA Staff an electronic list of persons participating in standards projects during the prior year.

k) Without exception, the Sponsor shall ensure the submission of an annual financial report(s) for the operation of the Sponsor and all of its standards development committees (e.g., working groups, task groups). Those groups operating without treasury are required to submit an annual declaration thereof via the report (see 5.3.6).

l) Monitor standards developing committees for signs of dominance by any single interest category, individual, or organization. If dominance is suspected, the Sponsor shall promptly notify the IEEE-SA Standards Board and shall immediately address the concern with the standards developing committee leadership.

m) If a Working Group (WG) was created for technical development work on a standard, ensure that a written set of WG policies and procedures (P & P) is created and approved by the Sponsor. Such P & P shall not be in conflict with the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual. Sponsors should note that IEEE-SA Standards Board maintains a baseline WG P & P, and may occasionally request to review a Sponsor's WG P & P for alignment.

5.1.2.2 Co-sponsored projects
For projects that are co-sponsored, a primary Sponsor and other co-sponsors shall be indicated on the PAR; project oversight will be performed using the P & P of the primary Sponsor.

After a PAR has been approved, the addition/deletion of a co-sponsor or a change of the primary Sponsor requires the submission of a Modified PAR. Any co-sponsor may withdraw from the project at any time without unanimous approval of the project’s sponsors prior to submission of the Modified PAR. A change to the primary Sponsor requires the unanimous approval of the project’s sponsors prior to submission of the Modified PAR.

Unanimous approval of the project’s sponsors is required in order to withdraw a co-sponsored project.

Requests to update a co-sponsored document via an amendment or corrigendum shall be submitted to the primary Sponsor; the primary Sponsor is required to seek concurrence of all co-sponsors in the decision of whether or not to submit a PAR to address a requested update.

In addition to Working Group members, the administrative committee (AdCom) or the executive committee (ExCom) of each co-sponsor shall have access to pre-Sponsor-ballot drafts.

5.1.2.3 Disclosure of affiliation
The Sponsor is responsible for ensuring that participants are notified of their obligation to disclose their affiliation(s), which includes employer(s) and any other affiliation(s). Each participant's affiliation(s) shall be disclosed during any standards development activity (e.g., during meetings and Sponsor balloting).

During standards development meetings, the Working Group Chair or the Chair's delegate shall inform participants of the definition of, and requirement for, disclosure of affiliation(s) and possible penalties for non-compliance (see 5.2.1.5 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws). This disclosure of affiliation shall be via a sign-in (e.g., sign-in sheet, electronic sign-in, verbal disclosure, or electronic communication) that provides for disclosure of affiliation(s). The minutes of each Working Group or other subgroup meeting shall record a list of participants in the meeting, and the disclosed affiliation(s) of each participant.

Whenever an individual is aware that the ownership of his or her affiliation(s) may be material to the process, or when the Sponsor or the IEEE-SA Standards Board requests, that individual shall also declare the "ultimate parent entity" of their affiliation(s). The ultimate parent entity is an entity that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls the entity identified as the individual's affiliation. For the purposes of this definition, the term "control" and its derivatives, with respect to for-profit entities, means the legal, beneficial or equitable ownership, directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of the capital stock (or other ownership interest, if not a corporation) of an entity ordinarily having voting rights. "Control" and its derivatives, with respect to nonprofit entities, means the power to elect or appoint more than fifty percent (50%) of the Board of Directors of an entity.

5.1.2.4 Nondisclosure and false or misleading disclosure
A participant who fails to disclose all affiliation(s) shall not accrue any participant rights, including rights of or towards voting membership or ballot participation, until such disclosures have been made. Failure to disclose affiliation(s), or materially false or misleading disclosure of affiliation, shall result in loss of membership or balloting privileges, and may also result in loss of other participation privileges within the IEEE-SA for such participants and any affiliated entities.

The Working Group should review the adequacy of disclosures. If a Working Group Chair becomes aware of a participant who provides potentially false or misleading disclosure, the participant shall be notified and requested to clarify the disputed affiliation. If the participant continues to provide potentially false or misleading disclosure, or fails to provide the requested clarification, the Working Group Chair shall notify the Sponsor.

The Sponsor of the project shall, when notified by the Working Group Chair or when appropriate, review the adequacy of disclosures. If the Sponsor deems the disputed affiliation inadequate, then the participant shall be notified that, unless addressed, the Sponsor will submit the disputed affiliation and recommended corrective action(s) to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board for review by the IEEE-SA Standards Conduct Committee.

During Sponsor balloting, if a potentially false or misleading disclosure of affiliation is identified, the Sponsor, Working Group Chair, or ballot designee shall notify the participant in the Sponsor ballot and request that the participant clarify the disputed affiliation. If the participant continues to provide potentially false or misleading disclosure, or fails to provide the requested clarification, the Sponsor, Working Group Chair, or ballot designee shall submit the disputed affiliation and corrective action(s) recommended by the Sponsor to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board for review by the IEEE-SA Standards Conduct Committee (see subclause 6.6.1 of the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual for details regarding the IEEE-SA Standards Conduct Committee).

5.1.3 Statements to external bodies
Each IEEE Standards Sponsor shall have policies and procedures in place concerning the creation and handling of public statements prior to sending any such statements in any format to any body other than the IEEE Standards Association. These procedures should state a means for developing and approving the Sponsor statement and a methodology for presentation of those statements. These procedures shall also conform both to the IEEE-SA procedures as administered by the IEEE-SA Board of Governors (BOG) and set forth in subclause 6.5 of the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual and to the rules in Section 15 of the IEEE Policies.

Each statement shall clearly identify the group creating this statement in its opening paragraph, and shall include in that paragraph, or a footnote thereto, the exact sentence that "this document solely represents the views of name of group and does not necessarily represent a position of either the IEEE or the IEEE Standards Association." If the public statement addresses safety, that statement shall be reviewed and approved in writing by IEEE legal counsel prior to issuance.

If the Sponsor wants to issue an entity position statement on standards that represents the viewpoint of the IEEE Standards Association, the rules in the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual shall be followed. Approval from the IEEE-SA BOG shall be obtained prior to a Sponsor requesting another IEEE entity (as defined in Section 15 of the IEEE Policies) to offer a position statement on a standards matter.

5.1.4 Standards publicity

5.1.4.1 Press releases
Sponsors are encouraged to prepare press releases to promote their activities. IEEE Standards staff is available to assist in the preparation of press releases.

Copies of all press releases developed by IEEE Standards Sponsors shall be submitted to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Copies may be supplied electronically. If the press release has been made available on a public website, the URL shall be supplied as well. Press releases may be made available on the IEEE Standards website, or links to existing websites may be provided to aid users in locating appropriate standards press releases.

5.1.4.2 Other forms of publicity
Sponsors are encouraged to use all means possible to promote their standards and standards activity. IEEE Standards staff is available to assist in standards promotion.

Copies of any articles from Sponsors concerning an IEEE standards activity submitted to publications shall be submitted to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Copies may be supplied electronically. If the article has been made available on a public website, the URL shall be supplied as well. Articles may be made available on the IEEE Standards website, or links to existing websites may be provided to aid users in locating appropriate standards promotional material.

5.2 Project authorization
No formal activity shall take place after six months from the day of the first meeting of the Working Group or PAR Study Group without formal submittal of a PAR to the IEEE-SA Standards Board and assignment of a project number, unless a single extension of six months for that activity is provided by the Sponsor (see 5.1.2). The Sponsor shall include a rationale in its meeting minutes when granting the extension. A PAR Study Group is a subgroup of the Sponsor or Working Group that is responsible for evaluating whether a standard should be developed and, if so, to complete a PAR form for Sponsor consideration. Only the NesCom Administrator has the authority to assign project numbers (see the IEEE-SA Project Numbering Policy).

The Sponsor shall submit the original signed copy of the PAR to the NesCom Administrator. This original PAR shall be submitted prior to the submittal deadline specified. For the first three quarterly meetings of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 40 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. For the last quarterly meeting of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 50 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. The individual signing the PAR shall be an IEEE-SA member.

At the time of PAR submission, the Sponsor shall state the type of balloting group that will be formed to approve or disapprove the standard (see 5.4.1).

Any PAR that includes a change in sponsorship shall be submitted to the NesCom Administrator, accompanied by letters of agreement from both the Sponsor ceding sponsorship and the Sponsor accepting sponsorship.

After the PAR has been approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board, the PAR form becomes an important part of the project file for the standard and is referred to at the time that a standard is submitted for IEEE-SA Standards Board approval. It is important for standards-writing committees to examine the approved PAR periodically in order to make certain that its information is current as shown on the form. This will minimize delays in obtaining approval of final submittals.

For standards and their amendments that may be submitted to international standards-developing organizations, the project chair should supply a coordination plan to the IEEE-SA Standards Board during the draft development of the standard that will illustrate the plan they will follow to coordinate the necessary multiple approvals.

If a standards project has not been completed by the four-year deadline authorized in the PAR and the Sponsor determines that the project should remain active, the Sponsor shall complete the IEEE-SA Standards Board Extension Request Form and submit it to the NesCom Administrator. NesCom will make a recommendation to the IEEE-SA Standards Board whether or not to approve the extension to the PAR. A PAR extension may be granted for one or more years.

If the Sponsor does not submit an IEEE-SA Standards Board Extension Request Form and the standards project has reached the deadline authorized in the PAR approval letter or a previous extension approval letter, the standards project shall be subject to administrative withdrawal.

5.3 Standards development meetings

5.3.1 Objective
The objective of IEEE standards development meetings is to develop and produce IEEE standards documents. All participants in IEEE standards development meetings are encouraged to produce standards that address the technical needs of their industry and that are feasible, timely, and of high quality.

5.3.2 Standards SponsorsSponsors are responsible for managing and hosting meetings whose purpose is to facilitate development of IEEE Standards. These series of meetings operate on a break-even basis and are not operated to generate a profit in the long term. The following subclauses specifically address this additional role of managing and hosting standards development meetings.

5.3.3 Standards development meetings
Standards development meetings are to be conducted consistent with the principle of openness. Participants in a Working Group may include members and non-members when the requirements to gain membership are specified in Sponsor or Working Group P & P. A 'meeting' includes any convening for which notice was required to be given or for which membership-credits or other participation rights are either earned or exercised. Meetings may be in-person or may be via electronic means, as appropriate.

While a Working Group may maintain its own list of participants to track membership status, the authoritative list of participants is maintained in an IEEE-SA database. Only those authorized to access and use IEEE’s data, including personal data, from IEEE systems are permitted to do so, for the purposes intended, including to support the technical development work on the standard, and only in compliance with IEEE or IEEE-SA Privacy and data privacy policies.

5.3.3.1 Job recruiting
Job recruiting at IEEE Standards meetings is inappropriate and is actively discouraged. However, posting of notices of job opportunities by employers and of notices of jobs sought may be permitted at IEEE Standards meetings only if approved by the IEEE Standards Sponsor.

5.3.3.2 Recordings of the proceedings of standards development meetings
IEEE-SA applies restrictions on recording the proceedings of IEEE standards development meetings. Restrictions include, but are not limited to, the usage of audio recording, video recording, and photography by participants or observers.

An officer of the Working Group or one of its subgroups, unless prohibited by the P & P of the Sponsor or Working Group, is permitted to record, via either audio or slideshow recording only, the proceedings of an IEEE standards development meeting for which he or she is responsible. Recording of the proceedings by any other participant or observer, in part or in whole, via any means, is prohibited.

The Working Group or subgroup officer shall use the recording exclusively for the purpose of generating minutes. The officer shall not copy or further distribute the recording. Once the meeting minutes have been prepared, the officer shall delete the recording.

Any IEEE standards development meeting may be recorded for preparation of the meeting minutes as described above. If recording is expected to occur, the following steps shall be taken:

The intent to record for preparation of the meeting minutes shall be noted on the distributed meeting agenda.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Chair or designee shall announce the intent to record the meeting and shall notify participants that remaining in the meeting is an agreement to be recorded.

The fact of the announcement to record the meeting shall be included in the meeting minutes.

5.3.3.3 Press attendance
Normally, individuals from the press are not encouraged to attend standards meetings. If the press is in attendance, the chair should announce press attendance. Normal meeting fees are not expected to be waived for the press.

5.3.3.4 Commercial activities
Exhibits of vendor products, distribution of literature, sales presentations, and similar activities are discouraged at standards meetings as they detract from and compete with the normal standards development process.

5.3.4 [Placeholder]

5.3.5 Meeting expenses
An IEEE Standards Sponsor may choose to set a meeting fee as a means of offsetting the costs of meeting administration, logistics, and other similar costs of standards development.

The Sponsor committee assumes the entire risk of deficit; i.e., if a deficit is incurred in the operation of a meeting, that deficit is chargeable against the Sponsor committee. Conversely, if a surplus results from the operation, the surplus will be credited to the Sponsor committee.

5.3.6 Annual financial report
All Sponsors shall ensure the annual certification of detailed financial activity via the IEEE-SA online financial reporting tool. The report is due by 15 February of each year for the previous fiscal year's activity. Failure to submit this report shall result in action from the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Entry of financial transactions shall be completed within 45 days of the end of each fiscal quarter (March, June, September, and December) and shall be considered delinquent if not submitted by that time. If two deadlines in one fiscal year are missed, the non-compliant group shall then be required to enter financial transactions on a monthly basis through the end of the following year. If missed deadlines continue, any of the following actions may be taken by the SASB:

-- Removal of the Treasurer

-- Removal of the Officers

-- Suspension of all activities of the non-compliant group until the report is filed and accepted as complete

5.3.7 Bank accounts
All IEEE standards development committees that have or intend to have bank accounts shall use the IEEE Concentration Banking Program as their only bank account. It is the policy of the IEEE that all bank accounts provide for the signatures of at least two volunteers (who shall be IEEE Member grade or higher in good standing).

Bank accounts shall be closed six months after the standards development activity has ceased and if further projects are not planned. Closing bank statement(s) shall be submitted to the IEEE-SA BOG and the relevant IEEE Society with the final budget report.

5.3.8 Auditing of finances
All IEEE Standards Sponsor committees with actual income or expenses of US $250,000 or more per year shall be audited by a fully qualified independent professional auditor. The Sponsor may select an outside accounting firm, another fully qualified resource, or the IEEE Internal Audit Department to arrange for and perform the audit. The selection of such auditors should avoid any conflict of interest with members of the relevant IEEE Standards Sponsor committees. If the IEEE Internal Audit Department is selected to provide the auditing service, all required documentation is due no later than 15 March. If prepared by an independent auditor, the contract/MOU for their services is due to the IEEE Internal Audit Department by 15 March; the final and complete audit report shall be submitted to the IEEE Internal Audit Department by 30 April.

IEEE Standards Sponsor committees with more than US $25,000 but less than US $250,000 in income or expenses per year may be audited. The IEEE Internal Audit Department is responsible for scheduling and arranging for the audits of these Standards activities. For those committees not scheduled for an Internal Audit review in a given year, an informal review should be conducted by a committee composed of individuals who have no direct or indirect responsibility for the financial transactions of the committee.

All audit fees, as determined by the IEEE Internal Audit Department, shall be incorporated in the budgets of IEEE Standards Sponsor committees and displayed as a separate line on budget reports.

The IEEE Internal Audit staff shall assure that committee financials are audited in accordance with the guidelines developed for this purpose.

5.3.9 Closings
All IEEE standards development committees with meeting income or expenses of US $25,000 or greater per meeting shall complete the following tasks within six months of cessation of the IEEE standards development activities:

-- Close bank accounts;

-- Distribute any surplus as directed by the IEEE-SA BOG;

-- Complete final financial reports;

-- Complete the audit, if required.

Many of these tasks are required by United States Internal Revenue Service regulations and by the audit process. Documentation concerning these tasks shall be reviewed by the IEEE-SA BOG and the relevant IEEE Society, where applicable.

5.3.10 Legal compliance and other issues

5.3.10.1 Compliance with laws
All IEEE-SA standards meetings shall be conducted in compliance with all applicable laws, including antitrust and competition laws. In the course of IEEE standards development, participants shall not engage in fixing product prices, allocating customers, dividing sales markets, or other conduct that violates antitrust or competition laws.

5.3.10.2 Discussion of litigation, patents, and licensing
No discussions or other communications regarding the following topics shall occur during IEEE-SA working group standards-development meetings or other duly authorized IEEE-SA standards-development technical activities:

-- The status or substance of ongoing or threatened litigation

-- The essentiality, interpretation, or validity of patent claims

-- Specific patent license terms or other intellectual property rights, other than distribution of Accepted Letters of Assurance as permitted under the IEEE-SA patent policy (see 6.2 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws)

5.3.10.3 Discussion of relative cost/benefit analyses
When comparing different technical approaches in IEEE-SA standards development technical activities, participants may discuss the relative costs (in terms, for example, of percentage increases or decreases) of different proposed technical approaches in comparison with the relative technical performance increases or decreases of those proposals. The relative costs may include any potentially Essential Patent Claims, but not the price at which compliant products may or will be sold. Technical considerations should be the main focus of discussions in IEEE-SA standards development technical activities.

5.3.11 Naming meetings and use of IEEE logo
This policy applies to naming all IEEE Standards Sponsor activities.

-- The meeting title shall include "IEEE" for identification purposes.

-- The name of a meeting shall be used in all publicity and all related material pertaining to the meeting, including electronic mail.

IEEE Standards Sponsor activities shall have the IEEE logo on all promotional material and publications.

5.3.12 Contracting
IEEE Standards meetings may require contracts for various services. These services include but are not limited to hotel services and meeting management services.

The IEEE Standards Sponsor committee or designee shall review all contracts connected with running a meeting. Contracts are subject to limitations as defined in IEEE Policy 12.6 and subclause 5.1.3 of the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual.

All meeting contracts shall be maintained in a readily accessible file at the IEEE Standards Department for audit purposes. It is the responsibility of the IEEE Standards Sponsor chair or working group chair to send a copy of the contract, when executed, to the IEEE Standards Department promptly for retention within the IEEE.

In signing a contract, competitive bidding procedures shall be used whenever practical. If competitive bidding is not practiced, the IEEE Standards Sponsor committee or working group chair shall be prepared to provide justification.

5.3.13 Insurance
All Sponsor committees of IEEE Standards meetings with annual meeting budgets or expenses for the IEEE of US $25,000 or greater are responsible for obtaining necessary insurance coverage for their meetings if this is not covered in established contracts with meeting facilities. The IEEE can provide such coverage as stipulated in the IEEE Finance Operations Manual.

5.3.14 Tax liability
The IEEE is a non-profit organization, incorporated in New York State, USA. IEEE holds standards meetings throughout the world, and the legal and tax requirements can vary greatly for each site. In the United States, the IEEE is exempt from paying income taxes and is also exempt from paying sales taxes on purchases in some states. Some states require sales taxes to be collected on-site for sales of books and other items. Order taking can be done without consideration of sales taxes.

Outside of the USA, there are other sales taxes that may be required to be collected at IEEE Standards meetings for on-site sales, such as Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Goods & Services Tax (GST) in Canada. It may be required to collect such taxes on meeting fees. There are also exemptions from paying VAT and GST and the rules are unique by country. In most countries, but not all, the IEEE is exempt from paying income taxes.

Because the laws and requirements of each country, state and province vary, it is very important that each IEEE Standards Sponsor committee contact the IEEE Tax Compliance Office (tax-staff@ieee.org) to find out the specific legal and tax requirements to operate at their site. This must be done very early in the planning stages of the conference; if planned properly, large savings may result.

Financial support by industry of IEEE-SA Standards meetings and events is acceptable. All such support shall not violate the not-for-profit status of the IEEE.

5.4 Standards ballot by the Sponsor
A balloting group shall be one of the following:

-- Individuals with voting privileges

-- Persons with voting privileges who are of any category other than individual

Sponsor(s) may conduct parallel balloting of a standard using both an individual balloting group and an entity balloting group. An interested Sponsor shall make a request to the Sponsor that is responsible for the standard as identified on the PAR to conduct parallel ballots. The decision to conduct the parallel ballots rests with the Sponsor that is responsible for the standard as identified on the PAR, and that Sponsor has the sole discretion on whether or not to use parallel balloting. These parallel ballots shall satisfy all corresponding ballot conditions. The management of the parallel ballots rests with the Sponsor responsible for the standard as identified on the PAR.

IEEE-SA shall maintain a single authoritative database for the list of members of the Sponsor balloting group. A request for a Sponsor ballot group membership list shall be submitted to the Sponsor Chair. The Sponsor Chair shall then forward such request to the IEEE-SA staff liaison for that Sponsor. The IEEE-SA staff liaison shall fulfill the request if the standard has been approved or upon its approval. For individual-based balloting, the supplied membership list shall consist of each member’s name, affiliation, and interest category. For entity-based balloting, the supplied membership list shall consist of each entity’s name, the entity’s designated primary voting representative (and, if designated, the alternate voting representative), entity affiliation, and entity interest category.

5.4.1 Balloting group
The balloting group shall meet the criteria in subclause 5.2.2.3 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws. Balloting group members have an obligation to respond during the balloting period; failure to return a ballot may disqualify the balloter from participation in future balloting groups. The balloting group shall provide for the development of consensus by all interests significantly affected by the scope of the standard. This is achieved through a balance of such interests in the balloting group membership. Balance is achieved by not permitting any single interest category to comprise more than one-third of the Sponsor balloting group.

No balloter shall have more than one vote.

Balloters are required to classify their relationship to the balloting group relative to the scope of standards activity (for example, producer, user, and general interest). Where appropriate, additional classifications, such as "testing laboratory" or "academic," may be added by the Sponsor. This decision should be based on the effect the standard may have on participants not already recognized by the primary classifications. Individuals classify themselves based on their technical background, which may be related to their employment, job functions, or experience. IEEE-SA entity balloters are classified based on their entity interest as it relates to the scope of the standards project (for example, producer, consumer, general interest). No single classification (interest category) is permitted to constitute more than one-third of the balloting group membership. Care shall be taken to ensure that all classes of interest are represented to the extent possible.

It is desirable to have representation of the materially interested and affected parties when reviewing the balance of the balloting group. Sponsors shall ensure balance prior to conducting a Sponsor ballot. Balloting groups of individuals should have at least 10 members to ensure adequate balance.

Interested or affected persons who pay the appropriate fees associated with voting privileges may join the balloting group for a specific standards project. Once the ballot has begun, the balloting group is closed to additional participants. Even if IEEE-SA membership status changes during the balloting period or recirculation period, there shall be no change to the voting status of the balloter with respect to that ballot.

5.4.1.1 Balloting group made of entities
Several distinct rules apply to Sponsor ballots by entities. For each balloting group, each such entity shall name one primary voting representative and, at the entity's option, one alternate voting representative to the Sponsor. Only a ballot from one of these representatives shall be accepted. If ballots are received from other parties, they shall not be counted; if ballots are received from both the primary voting representative and the alternate voting representative, only the vote from the primary voting representative shall be counted.

Each primary and alternate voting representative can ballot for only one entity; no one representative can represent the interests of more than one entity. Each representative shall declare what entity he or she represents and that their voting shall be independent of any other entity.

In order to be a voting member in a particular Sponsor ballot, each entity's representative shall declare that the interests of that entity are not knowingly represented by another member of the ballot body and that the entity is not knowingly funding directly or indirectly the participation of another person in that Sponsor ballot for the purposes of influencing the outcome of the vote. Any entity representative who cannot make such a declaration shall not be able to be a voting member in that particular Sponsor ballot.

It is desirable to have representation of the materially interested and affected parties when reviewing the balance of the balloting group. Sponsors shall ensure balance prior to conducting a Sponsor ballot. Balloting groups shall have at least five members to ensure adequate balance.

In the event that, through merger or acquisition or other similar event, an entity member of IEEE-SA has its assets totally or substantially transferred to another entity, membership in the Sponsor ballot body may be transferred to the new entity, provided that the new entity is not already a member of the Sponsor ballot body.

5.4.2 Ballot invitations
IEEE Standards balloting groups shall be formed by means of ballot invitations conducted by the IEEE Standards Balloting Center. A ballot invitation is sent to all parties known by the Sponsor to be interested in the subject matter of the proposed standard. Information about IEEE Standards Sponsor ballot invitations shall also be made available at the IEEE Standards website to allow additional interested parties the opportunity to participate.

Ballot invitations shall remain open for a period of no less than 15 days. Those who respond affirmatively to the invitation during the period in which the ballot invitation is open and who otherwise fulfill the criteria in both subclause 5.2.2.3 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws and 5.4.1 shall become members of the balloting group for that proposed standard. If a ballot does not open within 6 months of the invitation close date, the ballot group will be considered invalid and the Sponsor shall conduct a new invitation. Once the ballot has begun, no changes shall be made to the membership of the balloting group.

5.4.3 Conduct of the standards balloting process
When a proposed standard is ready for Sponsor balloting, a standards ballot shall be conducted by the Sponsor or Sponsor designee via the IEEE Standards Association balloting tools. The standards balloting process consists of Sponsor balloting group members casting votes, with or without accompanying comments, in one or more successive ballots until completion of the standards balloting process. Sponsor balloting group members shall submit votes and comments in a manner and in a format compatible with approved IEEE Standards Association balloting tools. Comments may be submitted against any normative or informative content of the ballot document, except for the Notice to Users section and the list of members of the Sponsor balloting group.

The ballot process may include communication among the Sponsor comment resolution group and Sponsor balloting group members regarding the substantive merits and possible resolution of comments. However, no comment resolution member, Sponsor balloting group member, or other participant in IEEE standards development shall intimidate or coerce a specific vote from any Sponsor balloting group member.

5.4.3.1 Ballot term
Each ballot in the standards balloting process shall close at 23:59 UTC-12[4] on the closing date specified on the ballot. The length of the ballot and associated recirculations is set by the Sponsor. The initial ballot term shall be at least 30 days in duration. The recirculation ballot term shall be at least 10 days in duration.

The Sponsor shall assess the return rate of the first ballot, where the return is the ratio of the sum of Sponsor balloting group members' Approve, Do Not Approve, and Abstain votes to the count of Sponsor balloting group members.

In the first ballot, if the ballot has not achieved a 75% return by the specified closing date, the ballot may be extended to close when a 75% return is received. This extension for receipt of a 75% return shall not be longer than 60 days.

5.4.3.2 Voting in the ballot
The ballot shall provide the following choices to Sponsor balloting group members:

a) Approve (Affirmative). This vote may be accompanied by comments suggesting corrections and improvements. All comments shall be considered; making a change to the proposed standard as a result of the comments is left to the discretion of the Sponsor.

b) Do Not Approve (Negative with comment). This vote must be accompanied by one or more specific objections with proposed resolution in sufficient detail so that the specific wording of the changes that will cause the Do Not Approve voter to change his or her vote to Approve can readily be determined. The Sponsor shall encourage the submission of comments with all Do Not Approve ballots.

Balloters who vote Do Not Approve shall be permitted to differentiate those comments that caused their Do Not Approve vote from other comments that they may wish to submit. Any comments that are explicitly identified not to be part of the Do Not Approve vote shall be treated as comments associated with an Approve (Affirmative) vote.

If no comments are submitted associated with the Do Not Approve vote, then the vote shall be counted in the total tally of votes as a Do Not Approve (Negative without comment).

If i) all comments associated with a Do Not Approve vote are deemed by the Sponsor as out-of-scope and ii) the balloter is notified that the comment(s) are out-of-scope and such notifications are accompanied with specific rationale for such out-of-scope determination, then the vote may be counted in the total tally of votes as a Do Not Approve (Negative without comment).

During a recirculation ballot, Do Not Approve voters may indicate acceptance of the response to any or all comments associated with their Do Not Approve vote. Each Do Not Approve voter shall be given an opportunity to review comment responses, determine if he or she is satisfied, either entirely or in part, and either to change his or her vote to Approve, to Abstain, or to retain his or her Do Not Approve vote.

c) Abstain. This category is provided to allow for ballot returns from Sponsor balloting group members who do not wish to vote Approve or Do Not Approve because of conflict of interest, lack of expertise, or other reasons.

During a recirculation ballot, Sponsor balloting group members shall have an opportunity to cast votes or change their previously cast votes.

5.4.3.3 Comments in the ballot
The Sponsor shall consider all comments that are received by the close of the ballot.

Sponsors shall provide evidence of the consideration of each comment via approved IEEE Standards Association balloting tools. Such evidence shall include (i) an indication of whether the resolution proposed by the comment was accepted, revised, or rejected and (ii) for comments that are not accepted verbatim, an explanation for the rejection of the comment or for revision of the change proposed by the commenter.

The Sponsor shall make a reasonable attempt to resolve all Do Not Approve votes that are accompanied by comments.

Until the proposed standard has achieved 75% approval, comments can be based on any portion of the proposed standard. Comments not based on the proposed standard may be deemed out-of-scope of the standards balloting process by the Sponsor.

Once the proposed standard has achieved 75% approval, comments in subsequent ballots shall be based only on the changed portions of the balloted proposed standard, portions of the balloted proposed standard affected by the changes, or portions of the balloted proposed standard that are the subject of unresolved comments associated with Do Not Approve votes. If comments are not based on the above criteria, the comments may be deemed out-of-scope of the recirculation. Such comments need not be addressed in the current standards balloting process and may be considered for a future revision of the standard.

Comments addressing grammar, punctuation, and style, whether attached to an Approve or a Do Not Approve vote, may be referred to the publications editor for consideration during preparation for publication. It should be borne in mind that proposed standards are professionally edited prior to publication.

Comments received before the close of ballot from participants who are not in the Sponsor balloting group, including from the mandatory coordination entities, require presentation to the Sponsor comment resolution group for consideration. The Sponsor shall send an explanation of the disposition of the mandatory coordination comments to the commenter.

5.4.3.4 Recirculation ballots
Changes may be made to the proposed standard in response to comments or for other reasons. All substantive changes made since the last ballot of the proposed standard shall be identified and recirculated to the Sponsor balloting group. All unresolved Do Not Approve votes with comments shall be recirculated to the Sponsor balloting group. The verbatim text of each comment, the name of the Do Not Approve voter, and a response by the Sponsor conducting the resolution of comments shall be included in the recirculation ballot package. Responses to comments that are not accepted verbatim shall include sufficient detail for Sponsor balloting group members to understand the rationale for rejection of the comment or revision of the change proposed by the commenter.

Further resolution efforts, including additional recirculation ballots, shall be required if Do Not Approve votes with new comments within the scope of the recirculation are submitted.

The Sponsor is not required to conduct a recirculation ballot solely for Do Not Approve (Negative without comment) votes.

5.4.3.5 Completion of the standards balloting process and submittal to RevCom
A minimum of 75% of those voting Approve or Do Not Approve (Negative with comment) must approve the draft in order to submit the ballot result to the IEEE-SA Standards Board. In the event that 30% or more of the returned ballots are Abstentions, the standards balloting process shall be considered invalid.

In the event that a 75% return cannot be obtained, the standards balloting process is considered to have failed and further disposition of the proposed standard shall be the responsibility of the Sponsor.

Once all required recirculations have been completed and 75% approval has been achieved, the IEEE requirements for consensus have been met. Efforts to resolve Do Not Approve votes may continue for a brief period; however, if such resolution is not possible in a timely manner, the Sponsor should forward the submittal to RevCom because the IEEE has an obligation to the majority to review and publish the proposed standard quickly.

Copies of all unresolved Do Not Approve votes, together with the reasons given by the Do Not Approve voters and the responses by the Sponsor, shall be included with the ballot results submitted to RevCom.

The Sponsor shall, if not included in a recirculation package, provide to the Do Not Approve voter and to RevCom an explanation why any comments associated with a Do Not Approve vote were not required to be recirculated. In order for a Do Not Approve vote to be changed to an Approve or Abstain vote, the Sponsor shall obtain and provide to RevCom written confirmation from each voter (by letter, fax, or electronic mail) that indicates concurrence with any change of his or her vote. Any Do Not Approve vote with comment that RevCom is asked to consider as a Do Not Approve (Negative without comment) shall be explained to RevCom.

5.4.3.6 Death or incapacity of a member of the Sponsor balloting group
In the event that the IEEE Standards Department receives documentation of the death or incapacity of a member of a Sponsor balloting group by the closing date for the first ballot, that person shall be administratively removed from the Sponsor balloting group. In the event that such documentation is received following the closing date for the first ballot, the Sponsor balloting group member shall be deemed unavailable for balloting purposes and shall not be sent any further balloting material. Comments associated with Do Not Approve votes that are received before the Sponsor balloting group member became unavailable will be treated normally; note that confirmation of resolution is not expected. However, no tally shall be recalculated as a result of such a determination of unavailability, including ballots, abstention rate, return, or approval rate.

5.4.4 Mandatory coordination
The Sponsor shall coordinate via circulations of drafts with the following entities:

The PAR indicates the possible registration of assigned names or assigned numbers to be included in or used by the proposed project.

It becomes apparent through development of the draft that:

new registration of assigned names or assigned numbers will be included in the draft that will be assigned under a standards developing organization (SDO), or a Working Group or Sponsor would like to request authority to conduct such assignment;

the draft includes reference to, or new specifications for use of, registration activity defined external to the proposed standard.

The RAC, IEEE Standards editorial staff, or RevCom may request RAC review of a draft.

Comments from mandatory coordination entities shall be given appropriate consideration and response by the Sponsor. At the time of project submittal to the IEEE-SA Standards Board for approval consideration as an IEEE standard, the Sponsor shall supply the most recent mandatory coordination comments and indicate either acceptance or a request for a waiver (see 4.2.3.2).

5.4.5 Comments received as a result of an IEEE Public Review
Upon the opening of the initial Sponsor ballot, an IEEE Public Review shall start and last for 60 days. Any person may purchase the initial ballot draft for information only, and have the ability to submit public comments on said draft without vote. All public review comments and responses shall be submitted electronically through the IEEE Standards Association public review tools.

All public review comments received during an IEEE Public Review shall be considered by the Sponsor and a response shall be provided to the commenter. If the response indicates that a change is to be made to the draft, the commenter is entitled to receive a copy of the revised draft from the Sponsor upon request.

5.4.6 Comments received from persons who are neither in the balloting group nor an IEEE Public Review commenter
Any person may purchase a ballot draft for information only. Such persons may submit comments on the draft. Comments received before the close of a ballot shall be considered by the Sponsor (see 5.4.3.3) and a response shall be provided to the commenter. If the response indicates that a change is to be made to the draft, the commenter is entitled to receive a copy of the revised draft from the Sponsor upon request.

Comments received after the close of a ballot will be provided to the Sponsor. The Sponsor shall acknowledge the receipt of these late comments to the commenter and take such action as the Sponsor deems appropriate. If the Sponsor considers the comments and provides a response to the commenter indicating that a change is to be made to the draft, the commenter is entitled to receive a copy of the revised draft from the Sponsor upon request.

5.5 Submission of proposed standards to the IEEE-SA Standards Board
The Sponsor shall submit all required documentation, including a complete copy of the last balloted draft, in accordance with the most current version of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Working Guide for Submittal of Proposed Standards to the RevCom Administrator. This submittal shall be made prior to the submittal deadline specified. For the first three quarterly meetings of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 40 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board. For the last quarterly meeting of the year, the submittal deadline shall be at least 50 days before the meeting of the IEEE-SA Standards Board.

When the proposed standard is considered at a meeting of RevCom, it may be necessary for the Sponsor to be represented at that meeting, particularly if there were unresolved negative votes during the balloting (see 4.2.3.3 and 5.4.3.2) and/or if RevCom members submit negative comments prior to the RevCom meeting (see 4.2.3.4).

Approved IEEE standards may be submitted for adoption by other organizations (see also 5.6). As part of the adoption process, the adopting organization may receive comments on the technical content of the standard. These comments should be sent to the IEEE Standards Department. The comments will then be referred to the Sponsor for a response. Responses shall be directed to the commenter, with a copy sent to the IEEE Standards Department. If, in the opinion of the Sponsor, such comments warrant an amendment or revision to the approved IEEE standard, the Sponsor shall submit a PAR.

5.6 Adoption
The IEEE is a focal point for various technologies and is willing to share its expertise with standards developers worldwide. One method for doing this is through adoption.

Adoption of IEEE standards by national, regional, and international standards organizations is encouraged. This adoption shall be a formal process that may include a reciprocal agreement between the IEEE and the organization adopting the IEEE standard. The following subclauses discuss the methods for processing adoption requests.

5.6.1 Process for adoption of IEEE Standards
Arrangements for non-IEEE organizations to adopt IEEE standards are established in binding memoranda of understanding. These memoranda of understanding shall be executed by the Managing Director, Standards, and the responsible person in the other organization. IEEE staff shall have responsibility for negotiating the terms and conditions of these agreements. Requests for adoption of IEEE standards shall be forwarded to the Contracts and Licensing Manager, IEEE Standards Department.

Adopting organizations are encouraged to participate in future updates of the originating IEEE standard.

5.6.2 Process for adoption of non-IEEE Standards

5.6.2.1 Sponsor identification
A Sponsor, as defined by subclause 5.2.2 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws, shall assume responsibility for coordinating the adoption of a non-IEEE standard by the IEEE. The Sponsor shall be responsible for the standard upon adoption and until transfer to inactive status in accordance with all IEEE Standards policies and procedures.

5.6.2.2 Project initiation
A Sponsor shall submit a PAR for the adoption of a non-IEEE standard to the IEEE-SA Standards Board to initiate an adoption. At the same time, the Sponsor shall contact the Contracts and Licensing
Manager, IEEE Standards Department, to initiate copyright negotiations.

5.6.2.3 Draft development
The adoption of a non-IEEE standard shall not include any revisions or changes to the actual document being adopted. However, IEEE exceptions addressing any differences between the IEEE adoption and the non-IEEE standard may be added to either the front matter of the document or in an annex.

5.6.2.4 Sponsor ballot
The ballot shall include a cover letter explaining the reasons for the adoption, the options available to the balloters when casting their votes, and the provisions for consideration of comments by the developer of the non-IEEE standard. The Sponsor ballot shall meet the requirements outlined in 5.4.

Ballot comments and any Sponsor responses shall be forwarded to the developer of the non-IEEE standard for consideration.

5.7 Trial-Use standards
A Trial-Use standard may be appropriate for the following situations:

a) To bring together concepts for cutting edge technologies that are so new that standardization concepts need to be developed as the technology progresses.
b) To solicit input from a broader community prior to consideration of the development of a full-use standard.
c) As an alternative for a proposed standard that receives a significant number of Do Not Approve votes that cannot be resolved.

Trial-Use standards are effective for not more than three years and cannot be amended; it is allowable to have corrigenda against a Trial-Use standard. Trial-Use standards are prepared through the normal standards process and require a PAR indicating trial-use, Sponsor balloting, ballot resolution, and IEEE-SA Standards Board approval. During the trial-use period, users and those interested in the document may submit comments. The front matter of each approved Trial-Use standard shall contain a published cutoff date for receipt of comments and shall state the expiration date for the Trial-Use document (dates shall be calendar dates, i.e., dd mmm yyyy.) The comment cutoff date shall be at least 12 months before the expiration date for the Trial-Use standard. The expiration date for the Trial-Use standard shall be three years from its publication date. Upon expiration, the Trial-Use standard shall be transferred to inactive status (i.e., the document will be labeled Inactive and reserved for historical reference.)

The Sponsor shall consider the comments received. If the document is to be converted to a full-use document, a revision project shall be initiated through the submission of a PAR that indicates full-use status. The normal Sponsor balloting and approval processes applicable to all standards shall be followed. Sponsor balloting for the full-use document shall not be conducted until after the comment cutoff date for the Trial-Use document. Once approved, the full-use standard will follow all of the applicable policies and procedures (e.g., ten-year life; can be amended; can be further revised; etc.).

The Sponsor may consider converting a full-use project to a Trial-Use project. To make this conversion, a Modified PAR indicating the change to a Trial-Use project shall be submitted to NesCom. If the Sponsor balloting process has begun, the Sponsor cannot convert the project from full-use to trial-use without terminating the active ballot.

In addition, the Sponsor may consider converting a Trial-Use project to a full-use project. To make this conversion, a Modified PAR indicating the change to a full-use project shall be submitted to NesCom. If the Sponsor balloting process has begun, the Sponsor cannot convert the project from trial-use to full-use without terminating the active ballot.

5.8 Appeals

5.8.1 SASB Appeals pool
The IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall select six to nine members of the IEEE-SA Standards Board to serve as the SASB appeals pool.

Members of the SASB appeals pool shall serve until a new SASB appeals pool is appointed.

The Past Chair of the IEEE-SA Standards Board shall serve as the SASB Vice Chair for Appeals. If the SASB Vice Chair for Appeals has a conflict regarding the subject matter of an appeal, the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint another member of the IEEE-SA Standards Board to serve as the SASB Vice Chair for Appeals for that particular appeal.

If the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair has a conflict regarding the subject matter of an appeal, the SASB Chair shall appoint a non-conflicted member of the SASB to serve as the second SASB Appeal Officer for that particular appeal.

5.8.3 Appeal brief
The appellant shall file a written appeal brief with the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board (i) within 30 days after the date of notification of action of the IEEE-SA Standards Board; (ii) within 30 days following a final decision from a Sponsor appeal panel; or (iii) after 30 days and within 60 days of IEEE-SA Standards Board inaction. The appellant shall first have exhausted the appeals procedures of the Sponsor prior to filing an appeal with the IEEE-SA Standards Board. The appeal brief shall state the nature of the objection(s) including any adverse effects, the clause(s) of the procedures or the standard(s) that are at issue, actions or inaction that are at issue, and the specific remedial action(s) that would satisfy the appellant’s concerns. Previous efforts, including all subordinate appeals, to resolve the objection(s) and the statement of outcome/decision of each, including a sequence of events of these efforts, shall be provided. The appellant shall include documentation supporting all statements in the appeal brief. All issues regarding the subject action or inaction shall be filed together in one appeal brief.

The Secretary shall send the appellant a written acknowledgment of receipt of the appeal brief within five days of such receipt. The SASB Appeal Officers shall review the appeal brief and determine within 20 days of receipt of the appeal brief whether the appeal shall be heard by an IEEE-SA Standards Board Appeal Panel, should be referred to the IEEE-SA BOG, or should be returned to the appellant with instructions. The appeal should be returned to the appellant for a complaint that deals with ethical issues, technical matters, or if the appellant has not exhausted the appeals procedures of a relevant subordinate committee. In these circumstances, the appellant should be instructed to follow the procedures of the IEEE Ethics and Member Conduct Committee or the IEEE-SA Standards Conduct Committee, as appropriate, for filing a formal ethical or conduct complaint; if the complaint concerns a technical matter, to follow the approved procedures for providing technical input including, but not limited to, making a technical comment during the applicable comment submission and/or balloting period; or if the appellant has not exhausted the appeals procedures of a relevant subordinate committee, to file a procedural appeal with such subordinate committee. The SASB Appeal Officers shall review whether the appellant has established a prima facie case, especially in reviewing whether any previous Sponsor appeal panel decision appealed from was adjudicated in accordance with the relevant P&Ps. If it is determined that a prima facie case has not been established, the Secretary shall notify the appellant in writing that the appeal will be dismissed.

If the SASB Appeal Officers determine that the IEEE-SA BOG should review the appeal, the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board shall notify the appellant and the appellee (the chair of the committee at issue) of that fact within five days of receipt of the notice from the SASB Appeal Officers that the IEEE-SA BOG will be reviewing the appeal. The appeal shall be referred to the IEEE-SA BOG and adjudicated according to IEEE-SA BOG processes (see subclause 4.4 of the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual). If the IEEE-SA BOG hears an appeal that originated from a referral from the IEEE-SA Standards Board, the results of that appeal shall be reported to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA Standards Board.

If the SASB Appeal Officers determine that an IEEE-SA Standards Board Appeal Panel should hear the appeal, the Secretary shall, within 30 days of receipt of the appeal brief, send the appellee a copy of the appeal brief and acknowledgment, and shall send the appellant and the appellee a written notice of the date, time, and location for an in-person hearing (“hearing notice”) with the SASB Appeal Panel (see 5.8.5). The in-person hearing with the SASB Appeal Panel shall be scheduled at the location set for, and during the period of, the first SASB meeting that is at least 60 days after mailing of the hearing notice by the Secretary.

Upon agreement of the appellant, the appellee, and all of the SASB Appeal Panel members, (i) one or more of the participants in an in-person hearing may participate by telephone; or (ii) the hearing may be held solely by telephone at a date/time prior to the scheduled in-person hearing. The Chair of the SASB Appeal Panel will facilitate such agreements.

New evidence meeting the requirements of 5.8.6 shall be provided at least two weeks before the date of the SASB Appeal Panel hearing.

5.8.4 Reply brief
Within 45 days of receipt of the hearing notice, the appellee may send the appellant and Secretary a written reply brief, which specifically and explicitly addresses each allegation of fact in the appeal brief to the extent of the appellee's knowledge. If the appellee furnishes a reply brief, the brief shall include documentation supporting all statements contained in the reply brief.

5.8.5 SASB Appeal Panel
The IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint from the SASB appeals pool an SASB Appeal Panel consisting of a chair and two other members who have not been directly involved in the matter in dispute, and who will not be materially or directly affected by any decisions made concerning the dispute ("SASB Appeal Panel"). At least two members shall be acceptable to the appellant and at least two shall be acceptable to the appellee. If the parties to the appeal cannot agree on an SASB Appeal Panel within a reasonable amount of time, the matter shall be referred to the IEEE-SA Standards Board, which shall appoint the members of the SASB Appeal Panel. If an SASB Appeal Panel member resigns or is removed from the SASB Appeal Panel at any time before the appeal hearing, then the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint a replacement from the SASB appeals pool. The replacement shall be subject to the acceptability criteria described above.

To ensure continuity of the appeals process, a specific SASB Appeal Panel will remain impaneled until the publication of the SASB Appeal Panel's final decision(s).

5.8.6 Conduct of the hearing
The number of participating (i.e., speaking) representatives for each of the parties to the appeal is limited to a maximum of three (3). Other individuals may attend the hearing, but will not be permitted to address, or be addressed by, the SASB Appeal Panel or either of the parties to the appeal at any time (including during the question and answer period). No recordings or verbatim transcriptions of the hearing are allowed, except by the IEEE-SA at its sole discretion.

The SASB Appeal Panel may call an Executive Session before, during the course of, or following an appeal hearing to consider its action on a specific appeal.

No party to an appeal may communicate with any member of the SASB Appeal Panel regarding the appeal while the matter is pending (i.e., from the time of filing of the appeal brief to finalization of the SASB Appeal Panel decision).

The appellant has the burden of demonstrating adverse effects, improper action(s) or inaction, and the efficacy of the requested remedial action. Each party may adduce other pertinent arguments, and members of the SASB Appeal Panel may address questions to individuals. The SASB Appeal Panel shall only consider documentation included in the appeal brief and reply brief, unless

a) Significant new evidence has come to light; and

b) Such evidence reasonably was not available to the appellant or appellee, as appropriate, at the time of filing; and

c) Such evidence was provided by the appellant or appellee, as appropriate, to the other parties as soon as it became available.

Prior to the hearing, the members of the SASB Appeal Panel may convene to review the ground rules before the participants appear.

5.8.7 SASB Appeal Panel decision
The SASB Appeal Panel shall not consider technical appeals or make findings with respect to ethical rules, but shall limit its consideration to procedural matters. The SASB Appeal Panel shall render its decision, based upon majority vote of the SASB Appeal Panel (SASB Appeal Panel members shall vote to find in favor of the appellant or the appellee and shall not abstain), in writing within 30 days of the hearing, stating findings of fact and conclusions, with reasons therefore, based on a preponderance of the evidence. The SASB Appeal Panel shall only address the concerns raised by the appellant and the appellee.

If the appeal has not been previously heard by a Sponsor appeal panel, the SASB Appeal Panel may give consideration to the following positions, among others, in formulating its decision:

a) Finding for the appellant, with a specific statement of the issues and facts showing that an IEEE policy or procedure was violated. In formulating its conclusions, the SASB Appeal Panel may prescribe the remedy proposed by the appellant or may prescribe an alternative remedy;

b) Finding against the appellant, with a specific statement of the issues and facts showing that appellant failed to meet its burden to demonstrate that an IEEE policy or procedure had been violated; or

c) Finding that new, substantive evidence has been introduced, and remanding the entire action to the appropriate committee for reconsideration.

If the appeal has been previously heard by a Sponsor appeal panel, the appellant does not have the right to retry appellant’s case before the SASB Appeal Panel. Rather, appellant must show by a preponderance of evidence that the Sponsor appeal panel made an error by failing to follow its own policies and procedures. The appellant shall be barred from bringing new evidence before the SASB Appeal Panel unless such evidence reasonably was not available to the appellant at the time of the Sponsor appeal hearing. In such a case, the SASB Appeal Panel will determine whether such new evidence could change the outcome of the proceeding and, if so, shall remand the entire action back to the Sponsor appeal panel for its reconsideration. Where the appeal was previously heard by a Sponsor appeal panel, the SASB Appeal Panel may give consideration to the following positions, among others, in formulating its decision:

1) Finding for the appellant with a specific statement of how the Sponsor appeal panel failed to follow its own policies and procedures and remanding the action to Sponsor appeal panel with instructions that the Sponsor appeal panel issue a ruling on the subject of the appeal correctly following its own policies and procedures;
2) Finding against the appellant, with a specific statement of the facts that demonstrate that appellant failed to meet its burden to demonstrate that the Sponsor appeal panel did not follow its own policies and procedures; or
3) Finding that new evidence has been introduced which (i) was not reasonably available to the appellant at the time of the Sponsor appeal hearing; and (ii) could change the outcome of the proceeding, and remanding the entire action to the Sponsor appeal panel for reconsideration.

The SASB Appeal Panel Chair, through the Secretary, shall notify the appellant, the appellee, and members of the IEEE-SA Standards Board in writing of the decision of the SASB Appeal Panel.

If an SASB Appeal Panel member resigns or is removed after a hearing, then the remaining two members of the SASB Appeal Panel may issue a decision if their decision is unanimous. If it is not unanimous, then the IEEE-SA Standards Board Chair shall appoint a replacement from the SASB appeals pool and a re-hearing shall be conducted during the next IEEE-SA Standards Board meeting series.

5.8.8 Request for re-hearing of the SASB Appeal Panel decision
The decision of the SASB Appeal Panel shall become final 30 days after it is issued, unless one of the parties files a written notice of request for re-hearing prior to that date with the Secretary, based on new evidence, provided such new evidence existed at the time of the hearing, but was not reasonably available to either the appellant or appellee, as appropriate, at the time of the hearing. In such case, the decision of the SASB Appeal Panel shall be stayed pending review by the SASB Appeal Officers within 20 days of receipt of the written request. The review shall decide

a) To adopt the report of the SASB Appeal Panel, and thereby deny the request for re-hearing; or

b) To direct the SASB Appeal Panel to conduct a re-hearing; or

c) At its discretion, to ask the IEEE-SA Standards Board to consider the matter.

Only one re-hearing can be conducted per appeal.

If the appeal was delegated to the IEEE-SA Standards Board by the IEEE-SA BOG, the decision shall also be sent to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA BOG. Appeals from a decision of the SASB Appeal Officers to deny the request for a re-hearing or from the decision of the SASB Appeal Panel after a re-hearing shall be referred to the IEEE-SA BOG.

5.8.9 BOG appeal
The SASB Appeal Panel's final decision can be appealed to the IEEE-SA BOG in writing to the Secretary of the IEEE-SA BOG within 30 days after the SASB Appeal Panel decision becomes final on the basis of a perceived error in the SASB Appeal Panel process or of a perceived error in the SASB Appeal Panel decision. Such appeal shall proceed in accordance with the IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual.

5.8.10 Informal settlement
The IEEE-SA encourages settlement of disputes at any time if the settlement is consistent with the objectives of the IEEE-SA Policies and Procedures. Any settlement (to which the parties agree in writing) that is consistent with these P & P, or an agreement to withdraw the appeal, will terminate the appeal process.